Environmental behaviour and translocation of imidacloprid in eggplant, cabbage and mustard

The recently registered insecticide, imidacloprid, was applied to three veg etable crops at 20 and 40g AI ha(-1). The persistence of the parent insecti cide and its translocation, along with the quantification of the metabolite s formed on these crops are presented. The parent insecticide dissipated wi th a half-life of 3-5 days and persisted longest on mustard leaves. The det ectable limit of the HPLC method was 0.01 mu g g(-1). The metabolites 1-(6- chloropyridin-3-yl-methyl)imidazoli and 6-chloronicotinic acid were found t o be translocated by day 10 in eggplant, cabbage leaves and mustard leaves but not in cabbage curd. The MRL of imidacloprid is not documented by the F AO/WHO on these crops and comparison of the MPI with the TMRC, calculated o n the residue data generated in this study, establishes the safety of the s chedule. (C) 2000 Society of Chemical industry.